Customers are more likely to consider buying platinum if the store’s inventory levels of platinum bridal are 25 percent or higher, according to a study done by Platinum Guild International.

The study, the 2011 Mystery Shopping Analysis, says that retailers who met or exceeded that threshold found that more than 70 percent of consumers would consider purchasing platinum engagement rings and wedding bands. The results also suggest that as inventory levels rise, sales associates become more confident in selling the metal.

“You can’t sell platinum unless you stock platinum,” said John Green, president of Lux Bond & Green, in a statement. “Brides and grooms rely on us to show them the finest jewelry available. Platinum wows them, so we stock platinum because it sells.”

Judd Rottenberg, a principal at Long’s Fine Jewelers in Boston, Mass., tells JCK that half the store’s bridal inventory is platinum. “People do come to us because of the platinum choices we offer them, compared to other jewelers,” he says. “No time of the year proves this out more than our annual wedding band event in March, which we’ve been doing for six to seven years now.” Rottenberg also says that because of the price of gold, there’s less price resistance from customers when they are presented with platinum.

JCK